Doom

The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combination delivers exceptional performance in Doom, with the data showing a clear emphasis on the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. This pairing of a 12-core, 20-thread Alder Lake processor with a high-end RDNA 3.0 graphics card produces frame rates that range from very playable at 4K to extraordinarily high at 1080p.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700K brings a substantial amount of processing power to this pairing. With 12 cores and 20 threads, the processor has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This configuration, built on the Alder Lake architecture, provides the kind of headroom that keeps the CPU from becoming the limiting factor in Doom's fast-paced rendering loops. The processor's benchmark results reinforce its capability; for instance, it scores 29,241 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 4,128 in Cinebench R23 singlecore. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4,013 and multithread score of 34,404 indicate strong performance across both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads.

In the context of Doom, the data implies that the CPU is more than sufficient to feed the GPU. The measured FPS at 1080p with Low settings reaches 340.2 FPS, which is an extremely high number that suggests the CPU can handle even the most demanding frame generation scenarios this game presents. The CPU's percentile ranking of 89 versus all CPUs places it well above the average processor, and its average benchmark score of 35,684 is closely matched by its nearest rivals. For example, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 has an average score of 35,802, which is just 0.3% higher, while the Intel Core i7-13700T trails by 0.6% with a score of 35,468. This tight clustering shows that the i7-12700K is firmly in the upper echelon of processors, though its exact position in the hierarchy does not dramatically shift the FPS results in this game.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best average FPS recorded for this combo in Doom?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 340.2, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the i7-12700K compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700T?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35,684, which is 0.6% higher than the i7-13700T's score of 35,468, indicating a slight performance advantage for the 12700K.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has a percentile ranking of 82, meaning it outperforms 82% of all GPUs in the benchmark database.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo achieve its lowest average FPS?

A: The lowest average FPS is 72.2, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how does it support performance?

A: The RX 7900 XT has a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s, paired with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, which provides ample data throughput for high-resolution textures.

Q: How many combos does this configuration rank above in Doom?

A: The combo ranks 331st out of 1,681 tested combos, placing it in the top 19.7% of all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 251.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops the frame rate to 162.2 FPS, a reduction of 89.7 FPS. At 4K with High settings, the average FPS falls further to 85.2 FPS, which is a 166.7 FPS drop from the 1080p result. This steep decline as resolution increases is a strong indicator that the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the component determining the performance ceiling in this scenario. The CPU has enough headroom to push much higher frame rates, as evidenced by the 340.2 FPS result at 1080p Low, but the GPU's rendering workload at higher resolutions becomes the limiting factor.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows roughly a 35% reduction in FPS, while the jump from 1440p to 4K shows a further 47% reduction. This non-linear drop is typical of a GPU that is being saturated. The fact that the frame rate at 4K High (85.2 FPS) is still above 60 FPS suggests that the GPU has enough raw power to handle the game at that resolution, but the margin for higher settings is limited. The data clearly shows that users looking for maximum frame rates should stay at 1080p, while those prioritizing visual fidelity at 4K will still get a smooth experience, albeit with less headroom.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured FPS rows across all resolutions, the "High" preset appears to strike the best balance between visual quality and performance. At 1080p, High settings yield 251.9 FPS, which is a massive frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 204.6 FPS, which is still excellent but represents a drop of 47.3 FPS compared to High. The Low preset at 1080p reaches 340.2 FPS, but this comes with a significant reduction in visual fidelity that is unnecessary for most users.

At 1440p, the High preset produces 162.2 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Medium preset offers 189.6 FPS, but the difference between High and Medium is only 27.4 FPS, making High the more visually pleasing choice with a negligible performance cost. At 4K, High settings deliver 85.2 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 72.2 FPS, which is still playable but loses 13 FPS compared to High. Given these results, the High preset is recommended as the default choice, as it provides the best combination of high frame rates and visual quality across all three resolutions. The data suggests that the Ultra preset is only advisable for users with monitors that cap at 60 FPS and who prioritize maximum graphical detail.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT ranks 331st out of 1,681 tested combos in Doom. This places the configuration in the top 19.7% of all tested systems, which is a strong result given the large number of possible CPU and GPU pairings. The rank indicates that this specific combo is faster than 1,350 other combinations, but slower than 330 others. Given the high-end nature of both components, one might expect a higher rank, but the data shows that there are still many configurations that can outperform this pairing in this particular game.

The rank should be interpreted relative to the GPU's percentile of 82 and the CPU's percentile of 89. While both components are individually in the top 20% of their respective categories, their combined rank in Doom is slightly lower, at 19.7% from the top. This suggests that the game's engine and the specific demands of Doom do not perfectly scale with the raw power of this hardware, or that other combinations with different balance points may yield better in-game results. The ranking is a useful reference point, but the measured FPS data provides a more actionable picture of what to expect in practice.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 340.2 FPS, Medium averages 296.6 FPS, High averages 251.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 204.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 135.6 FPS, showing a wide range of performance based on settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high. The Low preset averages 217.4 FPS, Medium averages 189.6 FPS, High averages 162.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 130.7 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with the High preset losing 89.7 FPS, but the results are still well above the threshold for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding. The Low preset averages 120.4 FPS, Medium averages 105.6 FPS, High averages 85.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 72.2 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are suitable for 60 Hz displays, while the Low and Medium presets can support higher refresh rates. The data shows a consistent pattern where each step up in settings costs a measurable amount of performance, with the largest relative drop occurring between Medium and High at 4K, which is a 20.4 FPS reduction.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates observed. The GPU features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. This large memory pool is more than sufficient for Doom's textures and assets, even at 4K resolution. The GPU's boost clock of 2394 MHz and game clock of 2025 MHz, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, contribute to its raw compute power, which is quantified by its FP32 performance of 51.48 TFLOPS.

The GPU's benchmark scores further contextualize its performance. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 29,009 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 169,834. Its percentile ranking of 82 versus all GPUs places it above the majority of graphics cards. The nearest rivals show a tight grouping; the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile has an average score of 38,349, which is 0% different, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 scores 38,494, which is 0.4% higher. This indicates that the RX 7900 XT is positioned at a performance level where small benchmark differences do not translate into meaningful FPS changes in Doom. The GPU's high bandwidth and compute resources are the primary reasons why the combo can achieve 85.2 FPS at 4K High, while the CPU provides the necessary support to avoid bottlenecking at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed.